Artist Statement

Bowing to Paradox is an exhibition that contemplates life— both the joys and the sorrows. It balances the mystery of natural phenomenon and the intricacies of the human condition. The mobile is used metaphorically to suggest the desire for equilibrium. The kinetic sculpture is in constant motion reminiscent of a living thing. The large tree surrounded by leaves is a figment of your imagination yet the shadow testifies to its existence. The grid of small metal combs graph an array of unique identities. A mirror made of military dog tags, a wooden comb, and a ruby red apple with two bite marks retell a hairy tale. Three scales and a place setting weigh the political, economic and social ramifications of food in the age of globalization.

What is real and what is illusion? We might call it bowing to paradox*.

*Fragment from the poem Like Blossoms Falling by Kathleen Flowers.

 

Diane Jacobs

Bowing to Paradox
July 1-31, 2010

Diane Jacobs
Homage to Kathleen
An Installation. Burned poem,
In These Five Remaining Days
poetry by Kathleen Flowers on magnolia
leaves, metal tears.


Diane Jacobs
Homage to Kathleen
Installation Detail

Diane Jacobs
Homage to Kathleen
Installation Detail

Diane Jacobs
Homage to Kathleen
Installation Detail

Diane Jacobs
Homage to Kathleen
Installation Detail


Diane Jacobs
Homage to Kathleen
Installation Detail

Diane Jacobs
Wishful Thinking
Chicken wishbones, transparent thread,
wire, mulberry paper screen
$400

To purchase this work please contact Laura at 23 Sandy Gallery.

Diane Jacobs
Wishful Thinking
Detail

Diane Jacobs
Wishful Thinking
Detail

Diane Jacobs
Like Blossoms Falling
Poem by Kathleen Flowers sandblasted
on glass, glue painted petals
Sandblasting by Juno Lachman
$800

To purchase this work please contact Laura at 23 Sandy Gallery.

Diane Jacobs
Tangled Identities
$25 each

To purchase this work please contact Laura at 23 Sandy Gallery.

Diane Jacobs
Mirror Mirror
Turned wooden handle by Steve Jacobs,
military dog tags, nails, and handcrafted
steel base by Aaron Loveitt
$1200

To purchase this work please contact Laura at 23 Sandy Gallery.

Diane Jacobs
Paradox
Ceramic apples, wooden comb
and human hair
$400

To purchase this work please contact Laura at 23 Sandy Gallery.

Diane Jacobs
Hairy Tale
Ceramic apple, wooden comb, human hair
$350

To purchase this work please contact Laura at 23 Sandy Gallery.

© The Artist. All rights reserved. Photos by Bill Bachhuber.

Artist Biography

Diane Jacobs is intrigued by the complexities of human nature and the inevitable interconnectedness of all things. This is manifested in the way she approaches her art making. She asks questions that invite the viewer to ponder meaning in between the concrete and illusionary. She uses human hair, text, found objects, ceramic, steel, glass, paper and reflective materials to create installations, book arts, prints, and sculptural work.

Jacobs received her MFA in printmaking from San Francisco State University in 1996. She has just received a 2009 Professional Development Grant to redo her website from the Regional Arts & Cultural Council in Oregon. Previously she received a 2008 and 2005 Individual Project Grant Award also from RACC. In 2000, the San Francisco Foundation awarded Diane a James D. Phelan Award in printmaking. She also received a Leo D. Stillwell graduate scholarship, an International Rotary Foundation Graduate Scholarship, an Artadia award, an Artists’ Book Residency Grant from the Women’s Studio Workshop (Rosendale, NY), and a Kala Art Institute Fellowship (Berkeley, CA).

Diane has exhibited nationally for the past 13 years. Her books are part of many important collections including the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the New York Public Library, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Yale University and Stanford University among others. She is presently living in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two sons.